THE MAGIC FLUTE (1975) A Film Review by Ted Prigge Copyright 1998 Ted Prigge
Director: Ingmar Bergman Writer: Ingmar Bergman (based on the opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder) Starring: Josef Köstlinger, Irma Urrila, Ulrik Cold, Birgit Nordin, Håkan Hagegård, Elisabeth Erikson, Ragnar Ulfung, Erik Säden, Britt-Marie Aruhn, Kirsten Vaupel, Birgitta Smiding
Adapting a very playful opera doesn't seem like it wouldn't be something a director like Ingmar Bergman would do, let alone be able to pull off. Bergman's fascinated with death, philosophy, and numerous other topics, and his films are often creepy yet brilliant pontifications on these topics. Mozart's "The Magic Flute" is a light-hearted fantasy about love, not really getting very deep at all, and appealing to anyone who just wants to hear a fun story be told with beautiful music. I'm not sure what initially piqued Bergman's interest in this project.
"The Magic Flute" is, basically, a filmed opera, albeit a very staged one. I've never seen an opera film before, but from what I hear, they're either: a) lavish films that set everything realistically, or b) those PBS offering where they just tape the opera being done in an auditorium in front of an audience. But Bergman wants to do both of these simultaneously, and the result is a film which looks staged, but has some really wacky special effects that a staged opera wouldn't have.
Mozart wrote "The Magic Flute" for a vaudevillian theatre, and the story is a silly one dealing with monsters, gods, and a couple people who are just looking for love. The story plays as a traditional fairy tale adults tell their children before they go to bed (or at least used to in olden days they did), and this is reflected in the way it is presented and told. Bergman doesn't shoot over everyone's heads and make this a darker opera with lots of Kirkugaad or something; he merely tells it the way it was supposed to be told.
As I said, the story's just silly, filled with lots of the traditional cliches: there's the square-jawed hero, Tamino (Josef Köstlinger), who, in the beginning, slays a dragon, and wins the respect of a trio of women (Britt-Marie Aruhn, Kirsten Vaupel, and Birgitta Smiding), who are mightily impressed by him and recommend him to the Queen of the Night (Birgit Nordin), who enlists him to rescue her daughter, the beautiful Pamina (Irma Urrila), from her alleged evil father, Sarastro (Ulrik Cold), who has taken Pamina from her.
We are also introduced to the comic relief of the story, a bird-watcher named Papageno (Håkan Hagegård) who's only wish is to find some woman to be his wife. However, he eventually befriends Tamino, and is soon helping him on his quest to locate Pamina, and also discovers that there is actually a woman who would like to be his wife. While his character isn't entirely necessary to the plot, he does give the film a great kind of humor that Tamino doesn't (Papageno is more of the humorous kind, who you rather laugh at when he begins to feel suicidal then feel bad for, primarily because you know he won't be able to go through with it).
The second half of the film deals with Tamino and Papageno in the lair of Sarastro, who is an obese, scary-looking individual, and followed around by an ominous group of priests. He seems threatening and for awhile it seems like he's the big villain, but he soon turns out to be a kind and gentle human being, whilst the Queen of the Night turns out to be the villain. Ulrik Cold portrays Sarastro splendidly, exhibiting a very gentle side which is easy to like.
Oh, and there's the magic flute, of course: a gift given to Tamino that when played can tame any creature. It comes in handy now and then, rendering any fierce creature to be kind and playful.
As I said, the story's pure fluff, and luckily Bergman plays it that way. But that's not all he does with it. Opera, like ballet and plays, has to be able to live in the moment. There's something cheap about seeing people seeing entire operas on film like its reality, even though with musicals its completely different (not even sure why, but I can take "An American in Paris" seriously, but not this). Bergman gives the entire film a sense of immeadiacy by dividing the film into its Acts, including the Overture, and always cutting to people in the audience, particularly a little girl who watches with delight, smiles at the right times, and seems serious in the more melodramatic areas.
We also get to see some behind-the-scenes work, which is all staged, like: the guy playing Papageno almost missing his first entrance, and people sitting in silent concentration during the intermission instead of fooling around. The entire opera takes place on a stage, and we see it constantly, but Bergman takes us into the opera like the audience doesn't, showing us more elaborate sets, and framing each shot perfectly so that we get to see exactly what Bergman wants us to see. One scene works perfectly: Tamino is given a labor by Sarastro that he must do, which entails him not talking to anyone; Pamina walks in to talk to him, and he tries desperately not to talk to her, but she has no clue what he's doing. Bergman cuts to both their facial expressions one by one, getting both emotions on their own, and giving the sense that they're seperated.
He also adds lots of other fun stuff, like sub-titles that the actors hold for the audience (in sweedish, of course), and blatant sets and special effects (look at the strings on the flute when it hovers over the characters in one scene). But he also shows us things we'd never see as the audience, like the inside of a hellish cave where two characters have to go in when for one of their labors to Sarastro. And he always cuts to the audience, letting us know that this is all happening before us (my favorite is the overture where he shows numerous people's faces, which are probably the same faces we have when watching this).
But Bergman still goes farther. He concentrates on the story and the acting, as well as the music. Every performer has a magnificent voice that perfectly highlights Mozart's brilliant score, but they also have the acting ability to make it all seem real, particularly Håkan Hagegård, who plays the joyous Papageno. Operas stars usually don't worry themselves much with the acting, but instead think chiefly about the singing, which is a very important part. But Bergman knows that acting is equally important, and he balances the two nicely.
Even the more plastic elements work well. This film is stunning to look at, with wonderful sets, interesting costumes, and yet another work of gorgeous cinematography by Bergman fave, Sven Nykvist. The entire feel of the film is not dreary-looking or uneasy, but playful and magical. This gives the film the tone it should have, and even gives it the feel that its taking place on a stage and not a sound studio.
But what "The Magic Flute" really does is capture the entire feel of the story. We feel happy when characters finally get what they want, we laugh at Papageno's antics, we feel sad when characters are going through something emotionally trivial, and we feel bowled over by some of the more suspenseful parts of the story. We also get the music perfectly done for us. This is a film where every single aspect of what opera should be comes together. I'm not really a fan of opera, yet "The Magic Flute" was something I couldn't take my eyes off of. And it's even more suprising because it was directed by someone like Bergman, who went out on a limb, and did something he never did before. The amazing parts is how well this holds up to his other works, even if its not as philosophical or didactic.
MY RATING (out of 4): ****
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